Michigan urged to steal Big Ten rival's new head coach to replace Sherrone Moore

Matt Campbell is still looking for a place to live at Penn State, but he’s already being floated as a potential replacement for Sherrone Moore after Michigan fired the head coach in a bombshell decision this week.

Wolverines alum and Bussin’ With the Boys co-host Taylor Lewan suggests his alma mater should still consider placing a call to the new Nittany Lions head coach, just in case.

“I would look to Matt Campbell,” Lewan said on Get Up.

“And the way I hear Josh Pate, who is the commissioner of college football, Matt Campbell is a guy I would look at how dry the ink is on that contract.”

Who else was on his list?

Campbell wasn’t the only name on Lewan’s list for Michigan to consider, but some of them also seem a little far-fetched.

Kalen DeBoer, for one. Alabama’s current head coach is preparing for the College Football Playoff and, despite appearing to be settled in Tuscaloosa, has still been bandied about as a possible candidate for this or that opening, including Michigan.

Washington head coach Jedd Fisch emerged as an early betting favorite, taking an initial lead on the big board at the prediction market Kalshi.

Lewan also suggested Michigan take a look at Arizona State head coach Kenny Dillingham and Jesse Minter, the former Wolverines defensive coordinator during the national championship run who followed Jim Harbaugh to the L.A. Chargers.

Michigan would have been interested before

Campbell almost certainly would have been considered for the Michigan vacancy had it been available before Penn State made its final decision.

Lewan suggested that Campbell could take into account that he wasn’t himself Penn State’s first option in finding a head coach, far from it, and may not have cared for the optics of that search.

“Look at Penn State and how they went across their coaching search. They hit about seven, eight, nine, 10 people before they got Matt Campbell,” he said.

“If I’m Matt and I feel some type of way about Penn State and their process and if I’m one of Michigan’s top three calls, I’m listening to that call.”

Is it possible?

Strictly speaking, no. At least it would be very unprecedented.

Although not entirely unprecedented. There are examples of football coaches backing out of new jobs days later to go somewhere else, notably Bill Belichick and Josh McDaniels in the NFL.

Duke head coach Manny Diaz was announced as the head man at Temple in late 2018, only to back out of that position two weeks later to take the same job at Miami.

But between two historic Big Ten rivals? That would be unheard of.

Campbell’s deal is worth $70.5 million, or about $8 million per season, making him one of the highest-paid coaches in college football, and Michigan would have to buy him out of that contract.

Theoretically, they could be willing to, in order to establish a new regime as quickly as possible.

Not to mention, Penn State’s reputation would be dealt an enormous blow at a fragile time in its history, after already drawing heavy criticism by taking over 50 days to find a new coach.

In the new era of college football, almost anything is possible, but this idea still seems a little out there to be considered a realistic option.

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